Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics

Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics
Prediction of the non-linear aeroelastic behavior of a cantilever flat plate and equivalent
2D model
--Manuscript Draft--
Manuscript Number: INDAER-D-20-00034
Article Type: Full Length Article
Keywords: Aeroelasticity; Computational Fluid Dynamics; Fluid Structure Interaction; Non linear
aerodynamics; Renewable Energy; Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes;
Structural Dynamics; Wind Engineering; Stall flutter
Corresponding Author: Pedro Quintero Igeño

Universitat Politècnica de València
Valencia, Valencia Spain
First Author: Antonio Gil
Order of Authors: Antonio Gil
Pedro Quintero Igeño
Andrés Tiseira
Andrés Cremades
Abstract: Reduction of weight is a field of high interest for civil engineering in order to reduce
manufacturing costs and environmental impact of the structure. One of the applications
of the weight reduction is solar energy production, and specifically solar tracker
structures. In this article, a simplified solar tracker is studied. The objective of the
analysis is to reduce the computational cost of a 3D two-way FSI simulation by
reducing the dimensions of the problem. The flow is simulated using CFD, and the
motion of the structure as a consequence of this flow is obtained using two-way FSI. A
theoretical equivalence between a 2D and the 3D plate is proposed to reduce CPU
time in the simulations. It is verified obtaining the modal deformations and its
contribution to the final deformed shape. Moreover, this 2D equivalent model is shown
to be effective comparing CFD simulations. Then, two different corrections for the
three-dimensional effects are evaluated and also compared with the non-corrected
results. Finally, the 2D simulation is demonstrated to be effective in the resolution of
the aeroelastic problem and the calculation of the stall flutter velocity.
Suggested Reviewers: Hervé Denayer

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
herve.denayer@kuleuven.be
Pablo Fajardo
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
pfajardo@ing.uc3m.es
Gianluca Montenegro
gianluca.montenegro@polimi.it
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Cover Letter
C over letter for the subm ission of the article:

“P rediction of the non -linear aeroelastic behavior of
a cantilever plate and equivalent 2D m odel”
This article has been developed within the framework of the PhD thesis of one of the
authors, Andrés Cremades, entitled “About the application of Fluid Structure
Interaction for the characterization and optimization of Civil Structures”, as a
continuation of the PhD thesis of Pedro Quintero. Additionally, this work was
developed in the benchmark of a collaboration with the Spanish company “Axial
Structural Solutions”
The main target of this PhD thesis is to achieve a general characterization of the
problems of Fluid Structure Interaction, selecting the main non-dimensional numbers
𝐸 𝜌𝑠
which govern the problem (non-dimensional stiffness, 1 ; mass parameter, ,
𝜌 𝑉2 𝜌∞
2 ∞ ∞
Reynolds number, Mach number…) in order to obtain a generalized analysis of the
different coupling strengths. Later, the FSI methodologies will be applied to the
characterization of Civil Structure
A case in which the application of these kind of methodologies plays a major role is the
evaluation of the structural and aerodynamics features of solar tracker structures. Due
to the inclusion of an additional degree of freedom on torsion, the stiffness of this
system is highly reduced and, therefore, the system is expected to experience failure by
aeroelastic instabilities, instead of static failure.
This kind of structures are characterized by a high aspect ratio and their aerodynamic
behavior is highly nonlinear. In consequence, the realization of Computational Fluid
Dynamic simulations become mandatory in order to obtain valuable predictions of the
beginning of nonlinear aeroelastic instabilities.
However, the resolution of this 3D problem can become prohibitive in terms of

computational resources and, instead, 2D simulations would be an alternative in terms
of reducing this computational cost by orders of magnitude. In fact, classical aeroelastic
theory dedicates an important amount of resources for the characterization of the so
called “equivalent airfoils” but, however, there is not a clear manner of how obtaining
this model from a three-dimensional geometry. It is possible to find a proposal in the
classical reference of Dowell (2015) which, however, is only valid for a particular choice
of structural boundary conditions.
This paper shows a methodology for computing the main aeroelastic instabilities in the
case of a cantilevered flat plate, whose aerodynamic features should be similar to those
shown by an actual solar tracker. In first place, an equivalence model is proposed, in
order to be able to propose and compare different 3D and 2D calculations. Finally, it is
possible to conclude how the present article can serve as a guideline in order to develop
a methodology for evaluating structural designs of solar trackers with a reduced
computational cost.
Manuscript File
1 Prediction of the non-linear aeroelastic behavior of a cantilever

2 at plate and equivalent 2D model
∗
3 Gil, A., Quintero, P., Tiseira, A. and Cremades, A.
4 CMT-Motores Térmicos, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, Valencia, 46022, Spain
76 ARTICLE INFO Abstract

8
9 Keywords : Reduction of weight is a eld of high interest for civil engineering in order to re-
10 Aeroelasticity duce manufacturing costs and environmental impact of the structure. One of the
11 Computational Fluid Dynamics applications of the weight reduction is solar energy production, and specically
12 Fluid Structure Interaction solar tracker structures. In this article, a simplied solar tracker is studied. The
13 Non linear aerodynamics objective of the analysis is to reduce the computational cost of a 3D two-way FSI
14 Renewable Energy simulation by reducing the dimensions of the problem. The ow is simulated using
15 Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier CFD, and the motion of the structure as a consequence of this ow is obtained
16 Stokes using two-way FSI. A theoretical equivalence between a 2D and the 3D plate is
17 Structural Dynamics proposed to reduce CPU time in the simulations. It is veried obtaining the modal
18 Wind Engineering deformations and its contribution to the nal deformed shape. Moreover, this 2D
19 Stall utter equivalent model is shown to be eective comparing CFD simulations. Then, two
20 dierent corrections for the three-dimensional eects are evaluated and also com-
21 pared with the non-corrected results. Finally, the 2D simulation is demonstrated
22 to be eective in the resolution of the aeroelastic problem and the calculation of
23 the stall utter velocity.
24
25 1. Introduction
26 Reduction of fossil fuels consumption is one of the main objectives of modern engineering. According to
27 Lobaccaro et al. [1] and a report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC [2], by 2050 the
28 49-67% of primary energy will be supplied by renewable source. Among these sources, it is worthy to name
29 photovoltaic energy. Despite its low eciency compared with fossil fuels, the availability and aordability
30 of its primal energy source (solar radiation) converts it in one of the main substitutes of thermal power
31 stations and a solution to energy poverty ([3], [4]): Lewis [5] stated that maximum theoretical eciency
32 for silicon commercial cells is around 25%, while most of the manufactured output eciencies remain in
33 10-18%, according to Polman and Atwatter [6]. This fact exposes the necessity of increasing the eciency
34 of photovoltaic cells as much as possible.
35 Maximum eciency of a solar cell is obtained for 0 deg of incidence for a basic conguration ([7]), or 5-20
36 deg if grating structure is used ([8]). Therefore, in order to maintain incidence on its optimum during a whole
37 solar day, a tilting panel is one of the rst solutions for increasing the eciency of photovoltaic stations.
38 A solar tracker is a tilting system which is able to adapt its geometry to the environment, maximizing its
39 eciency, which is currently one of the most used engineering solutions for this kind of facilities. The motion
40 of the tracker is dened by a tracking algorithm in order to point the Sun and correct weather conditions.
41 As stated by Kim and Cho [9], dierent algorithms can be used, for instance, ecliptic tracking (which uses
42 latitude, longitude, altitude and time information) and pin-hole camera tracking system (which can nd the
43 position of the sun in the sky using articial vision) or even a dynamic algorithm (combination of tracking
44 laws).
45 Depending on the movement capability, solar trackers can be classied as single or dual-axis [10]. Single-
46 axis trackers usually follow the Sun's East-West movement ([11]), while dual-axis trackers can also follow
47 the changes in altitude, ([12]). Despite its increment on energetic eciency, the inclusion of a rotation axis
48 may result on important structural diculties. In fact, the inclusion of this system makes the structure
∗ Corresponding
author
ancrebo@posgrado.upv.es (C. A.)
orcid(s):
Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 1 of 28

Non-linear aeroelastic cantilever at plate
49 similar to a cantilevered beam, reducing its stiness in comparison with the original clamped panel ([13]).
50 Traditionally, civil structures have been designed using engineering manuals [14] which, normally, do not
51 contemplate aeroelastic phenomena, but estimates that deformation of the structure does not signicantly
52 aect to the own aerodynamic forces. However, for tilting panels, the reduction of structural torsional
53 stiness may lead to failure in lower velocity wind conditions than those predicted by the rigid assumption.
54 In order to account for these phenomena, due to the three dimensionality of the structural boundary
55 conditions and the aerodynamic nonlinearities which are inherent to this kind of systems, performing 3D
56 fully coupled uid structure interaction simulations becomes mandatory. However, the computational cost of
57 these kind of methods can, under some situations, become prohibitive. In order to overcome this, the current
58 work proposes a methodology for the obtainment of an equivalent 2D dimensional model (regardless with the
59 possible complexities of any kind of structural boundary conditions), which reduces by orders of magnitude
60 the computational cost. These 2D calculations will be compared with their equivalent 3D models and the
61 capabilities of this reduced simulation will be discussed. This could be used as a practical engineering tool
62 for the design and weigh reduction of tracking systems.
63 Aerodynamic loads are the most important solicitations to be hold by a tracker structure. Under low
64 wind velocity, or for a rigid structure, these produce deformations which are usually small enough to neglect
65 its inuence on the aerodynamic features of the system. However, if the wind velocity is increased, or the
66 torsional stiness of the structure is decreased, the aeroelastic motion may become unstable and destructive.
67 In this work, in order to study the aeroelastic phenomena of a geometry including the whole physical
68 phenomena of an actual solar tracker, the problem will be simplied to a clamped at plate. In a at plate,
69 when the motion is amplied, the structure may easily stall, generating a oscillatory motion (with large
70 amplitude and torsionally dominant) which is identied as stall-utter by some authors ([15], [16]).
71 Regarding with this phenomenon, it is worth to mention the work of Culler and Farnsworth [15], who
72 performed an experimental analysis on a two dimensional NACA 0018 airfoil at high angles of attack. Here,
73 they found three main regions of aeroelastic behavior depending on the working conditions: stable, stall
74 utter and unstable. In the rst one, the airfoil is in linear conditions while in the unstable region, the
75 structure is expected to diverge up to failure. For the stall utter region, two dierent behavior might be
76 observed: the stable region, in which pitch is constrained to a high amplitude oscillation and convergent,
77 pitch decays to a certain value. However, despite of the undeniable value of this classication, its results
78 cannot be easily extrapolated for the case in which the aerodynamic body is a at plate, which experiences
79 a non linear aerodynamic behavior for much lower values of the angle of attack. As it was previously stated,
80 the selection of a at plate as the aerodynamic body is due to its similarities to the actual geometry of a
81 solar tracker.
82 Other important fact of the at plate dynamics is the location of its center of mass, which is found to be
83 exactly at the same place than its elastic axis. In the classic reference of Dowell [17], it can be found how
84 the aeroelastic behavior diers depending on the relative position of these points: if the center of gravity is
85 upwards or in the elastic axis, linear utter does not occur, as the structure will rst experience a divergence
86 instability. However, if the center of gravity is downwards, linear utter is the rst arising instability. The
87 practical case of a cantilevered at plate presented in this paper lies on the rst classication, as the center of
88 mass and elastic axis are coincident due to the symmetry of the system. Therefore, the plate is not expected
89 to experience linear utter [17]. However, in a similar manner as found at the already mentioned work of
90 Culler and Farnsworth [15], when the wind velocity is high enough, a high amplitude oscillation motion will
91 be observed, which could be identied as stall utter. The origin of this oscillating motion can be attributed
92 to the non-linear features of the at plate aerodynamics: when the pitch angle is increased, the at plate
93 stalls, reducing aerodynamic load and initializing the oscillating movement.
94 According with the previous ideas, if the ow velocity is high enough, the at plate structure could
95 initiate an unstable oscillating movement, which is observed for lower values of this parameter for the case of
96 tilting solar structures, due to the already mentioned decrease of the stiness of the system. Thus, the utter
97 critical velocity might be dramatically decreased and lead to a catastrophic failure during strong wind. The
98 loads on the solar panel depends on dierent factors, which aect to the aerodynamic behavior of the plate:
99 inclination angle, interference with other panels, aspect ratio of the array... Thus, the importance of this
100 kind of problems can be inferred by the observation of its interest on previous studies: for instance Chu
101 and Tsao [18] performed an experimental analysis of the aerodynamic forces on a photovoltaic solar panel

102 installed on a roof; Pfahl and Uhlemann [19] obtained the wind loads acting on heliostats and trackers using
103 a wind tunnel experiment; other important reference, accounting for aeroelastic phenomena, can be found
104 at Wu et al. [20],[21], who performed an experimental analysis on bridge-like structures. Finally, Petersen
105 et al. [22] measured the acceleration of a suspension bridge and identied the wind loads on a bridge.
106 In accordance with the authors' knowledge most of the studies available in the literature, involving three
107 dimensional structures are limited to experimental essays, most probably due to the high computational cost
108 required by three dimensional computations. Moreover, in accordance with the authors' best knowledge,
109 the equivalence between 3D and 2D geometries has not been widely studied, even when 2D aeroelasticity
110 has been traditionally used for the comprehension of the main aeroelastic phenomena. A basic method for
111 obtaining the equivalent 2D model was presented by Dowell [17], this is applicable only at very limited
112 situations and does not allow to account for the stiness of the vertical motion.
113 From the observation of previous works related with aeroleasticity, as those of In Baxevanou et al. [23]
114 or Streiner et al. [24] it can be inferred how, for moderate values of the Reynolds number, the features of
115 airfoil-like systems could be signicantly aected by the selection of this parameter. However, for sharp edge
116 bodies, as the at plate, the forces are independent of Reynolds [19], allowing to x this parameter when
117 analyzing the coupled problem . Additionally, Gavasane et al. [25] performed a parametric study, imposing
118 high amplitude oscillating motions in order to obtain the aerodynamic features of the transient ow around a
119 two dimensional at plate a similar problem is solved. But the inclusion of 3D simulations was not included.
120 Other parameter which can be critical for the determination of the utter features of solar arrays is
121 the aspect ratio, AR, of the structure which aects both the value of the aerodynamic forces (generally,
122 higher aspect ratio is related to a higher value of the aerodynamic forces) and the stiness of the structure
123 (the higher aspect ratio is related with a lower rigidity of the system). For high values of AR aerodynamic
124 three dimensional eects might be negligible. However, for low values of this parameter, 3D eects can
125 be important and therefore, a possible 2D equivalent model should be capable to account for this fact, as
126 could be observed in the work of Tangermann et al. [26]. It is also important to take into account that the
127 transient simulation must include three dimensional eects. In order to obtain those eects, expensive 3D
128 transient simulations must be calculated. As a solution to reduce the CPU time in this paper a correction
129 of the three-dimensional eects is proposed to avoid 3D transient simulations.
130 In order to contribute to the lack of knowledge detected during the previous paragraphs, this paper
131 presents a whole parametric analysis in order to propose a three dimensional computational methodology
132 for the prediction of the main aeroelastic features of a at plate immersed a uid ow. Moreover, in order
133 to reduce the computational cost of the simulations, an equivalent 2D model is developed using Lagrange
134 equations and a set of eigenfunctions obtained by an isolated nite element model of the plate.
135 The current work is, therefore, structured as follows: in section 2, the geometry of the problem is
136 sketched and the main features of the system to analyze will be presented. Later, in section 3, the main
137 theoretical background is stated: equations of uid mechanics and elasticity are presented, as well as the
138 main closure models for their resolution. Then, the aeroelastic simplied model is developed, reaching
139 an equivalence between 2D and 3D physics and the non-dimensional characteristic parameters are stated.
140 After the equations are presented, section 4 will explain the methodology which has been followed for their
141 resolution. In this section CFD procedures are described, as well as a mathematical correction for accounting
142 the eect of the three dimensional aerodynamics eect on the two dimensional equivalent model. Section
143 5 shows the main results obtained during the work, as the dependence of the deformation with stiness,
144 the comparison of 2D and 3D calculations... Finally, section 6 presents a summary of the main conclusions
145 derived from the current work.
146 2. Description of the test case
147 In this paper, 2D and 3D numerical aeroelastic simulations are proposed. These simulations are performed
148 on a cantilevered exible at plate immersed in a closed channel. The geometry of the problem is selected
149 in order to verify the possibility to reduce the dimension and avoid 3D calculations of a solar tracker in a
150 FSI simulation. The beam is clamped in one of the edges and is let to be free at the other. The geometry of
151 the uid domain was adopted in order to represent the dimensions of CMT-Motores Térmicos low Reynolds
152 wind tunnel 400x400mm, as it is planned to perform related experiments in the future.

153 The main dimensions of the case study can be found at Figure 1, which shows a scheme of the problem
154 both in 3D (left) and 2D (right). The main dimensions of the geometry are: the chord of the plate (c =
155 100mm), its length (L = 3.7 c) and its thickness (h = 0.04 c), leading to an aspect ratio AR = 2 L/c = 7.4.
156 The channel is conformed by a square section of dimension H = 4 c. The length of the wind tunnel is
157 Lu = 5c upwind and Ld = 15c downwind. The plate is located on the center of the cross-section of the
158 tunnel with an incidence of 2.5 deg.
(a) 3D domain (b) 2D domain (not-scale)

Figure 1: Domain of the simulation (not scale), 3D plate simulation (left) and 2D simplication of the problem (right)
159 The walls of the domain are supposed to be placed at a location far enough in order to assume that the
160 thin boundary layer is not signicantly aecting to the aerodynamics of the at plate. This can be justied
161 by observing how these dimensions are similar to those studied on the work of Torregrosa et al. [27]. Here,
162 they proposed the use of slip boundary conditions on these in order to decrease the computational cost
163 without jeopardizing the accuracy of the results and, therefore, a similar strategy is followed at the current
164 work. On the other hand, it could be argued that the closeness of the horizontal walls to the plate will make
165 the aerodynamic of the body to be highly inuenced by blockage eects. In fact, this is the case. However,
166 as explained during the introduction of the paper, the main aim of this work is to propose a methodology
167 for studying three dimensional geometries (both directly and by means of two dimensional simplications)
168 using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Therefore, the methodology itself is the main contribution
169 of the article and could be also be applied to problems representing a structure lying in a fareld just by
170 increasing these dimensions, although increasing the computational cost of the simulation.
171 The ow is perpendicular to the inlet section, with a reference constant velocity of V∞ = 20 m s−1 , which
172 is maintained during the whole simulations. The uid is supposed to be air with inlet conditions of density
173 ρ∞ = 1.18kg m−3 , viscosity µ∞ = 1.86 · 10−5 Pa s and sound speed a∞ = 340 m s−1 . For the at plate, the
174 reference material is polymethyl methacrylate whose mechanical properties are given by its Young Modulus,
175 E = 3300MPa; a Poisson coecient of ν = 0.35 and a density of ρs = 1180kgm−3 . With these parameters,
176 the ow conditions are given by a Reynolds number of Re = ρ∞ V∞ c/µ∞ ≈ 1.5 · 105 and a Mach number of
177 Ma = V∞ /a∞ ≈ 0.06. Thus, the ow can be assumed to be incompressible.
178 It is important to point that the previous values are a reference for the problem. As it will later shown,
179 the stiness parameter which governs the problem is proportional to E/(ρ∞ V∞2 ). Therefore, in order to
180 analyze the inuence of this parameter while maintaining the value of Re, the Young's modulus will be
181 varied during the dierent simulations. Note that, due to the almost independence of the aerodynamics of
182 sharp-edge bodies with Re this method is completely analog to the perform of a swept on incoming velocity,
183 but easing the process of the simulations, as will be later shown.

184 3. Theoretical background
185 3.1. Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes

186 In this paper, the uid ow is supposed to be governed by the Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier
187 Stokes equations, which can be derived from the complete set of mass, momentum and energy conservation
188 equations, and are shown next for an incompressible ow [28]:
∂hVi i


 =0
 ∂xi
(1)
∂hVi i ∂hVi i µ ∂ 2 hVi i ∂hvi vj i 1 ∂hpi
+ hVj i − −


 =
∂t ∂xj ρ ∂xj ∂xi ∂xj ρ ∂xi
189 where hVi i represents the component in the ith direction of the mean velocity eld, hVi and hpi represents
190 the average pressure eld.
191 Closure of equations (1) can only be achieved by modeling the terms hui uj i, which are commonly referred
192 to as the Reynolds stresses. The selection of an appropriate turbulence model is of primal importance for
193 the evaluation of the ow characteristics. In this paper, the k − ω model with shear stress transport (SST)
194 was used with this purpose. This turbulence model has been extensively used in the literature for this kind
195 of ows due to its ability to obtain accurate results in the ow separation under adverse pressure gradients
196 ([25], [29]).
197 The k − ω SST model was proposed by Menter [30] and is a transitional model in which the formulation
198 considered varies from the k − ω turbulence model proposed by Wilcox [31] in the vicinity of the walls, to
199 the k − ε model away from the walls, thus solving the main inconveniences of both models. In addition
200 to a transport equation for the turbulent kinetic energy, k, the k − ε and the k − ω turbulent models
201 solve a transport equation for the turbulent dissipation rate, , and the specic turbulent dissipation rate, ω ,
202 respectively. These variables are related by ω ∝ ε/k and allow obtaining the turbulent viscosity νt = Cµ k2 /ε
203 (being Cµ = 0.09 a modelling constant). This turbulent viscosity is used to model the value of the Reynolds
204 stress tensor as:

2 ∂hVi i ∂hVj i
hvi vj i = δij − νT + (2)
3 ∂xj ∂xi
205 3.2. Elastic problem

206 The governing equations for the solid media ([32], [33]) can be written as follows:
∂2w
~
ρ = ∇σ − ~b (3)
∂t2
207 where w~ is the displacement eld of the solid from an inertial reference frame, ~b is a vector representing the
208 volume forces, ρ is the density of the material and σ is the Cauchy stress tensor.
209 For an isotropic material, the relation between the applied stress and the strain produced is obtained by
210 applying the following expression:
Eν E
σij = δij ij + 2 ij (4)
(1 + ν)(1 − 2ν) 2(1 + ν)
211 The closure of the displacement is obtained using the strain-displacement relationships:

1 ∂wi ∂wj
ij = + (5)
2 ∂xj ∂xi

212 3.3. Derivation of the 2D equivalent model

213 As it is well known, the behavior of the three dimensional system will be governed by the conjunction of
214 the Lagrange equations ([34]), which can be written as:

d ∂T ∂U
+ = Qqj (6)
dt ∂ q̇j ∂qj
215 Where T is the kinetic energy of the structure; qj represents the j th generalized coordinate; U is the
216 potential energy and Qqj is the generalized force corresponding to the coordinate qj .
217 As the plate can be structurally modeled as a beam, its displacement could be expressed as a exural
218 motion, ∆w(z, t), combined with a torsional displacement, ∆θ(z, t). Thus, it would be possible to express
219 each of them as the sum of eigenfunctions, as follows:
∞ ∞
(7)
X X
∆θ(z, t) = (Θi (t) · fi (z)) ∆w(z, t) = c · (Wi (t) · gi (z))
n=1 n=1
220 where fi (z) and gi (z) are the associated eigenfunctions for torsion and bending respectively and Θi (t) and
221 Wi (t) are the amplitude associated with each of them. Both functions must comply with the boundary
222 conditions of the structure which, for the case of a clamped-free plate, are ∆θ(0) = ∆θ0 (0) = 0; ∆w(0) =
223 w0 (0) = 0 and ∆w00 (L) = 0, as it can be observed in Figure 2. In this gure, the eigenfunctions have been
224 calculated for the geometry of Figure 1. These functions have been obtained using a Finite Element Method
225 (FEM) on equation 6 for zero external loads, using the methodology which will be explained in the next
226 section. They have been normalized in order to obtain a maximum value of 1, located at the tip of the plate.
f1 g1
f2 g2
f3 g3
f4 g4
(a) Flexural shape functions (b) Torsional shape functions

Figure 2: Normalized deformation modes along the span of the clamped at plate corresponding to the torsional (left)
and exion (right) modes
227 Once the motion of the plate can be supposed to be a combination of torsional and exural modes, the
228 vertical displacement and velocity of any point located over the plate (yp ) can be, therefore, calculated as
229 follows:
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
(8)
X X X X
yp = −x Θi (t) · fi (z) + Wi (t) · gi (z) ẏp = −x Θ̇(t) · fi (z) + Ẇ (t) · gi (z)
0 0 0 0
230 where x is the coordinate of the plate in the direction of the chord, Θi and Wi are the torsion and bending
231 coecients of the series.
232 With these assumptions, therefore, the kinetic, T and potential, U energies of the plate could be expressed
233 as:
2 2
d2 ∆w
ZZZ Z Z
1 1 d ∆θ 1
T = ρs ẏp2 dΩ U= GJ dz + EI dz (9)
2 2 dz 2 dz 2
234 where G = E/(2 · (1 + ν)) is the shear modulus of the material; J is the torsion constant of the section
235 (which, for a rectangular shape with h/c << 1 results to be J = 13 c h3 ) and I is the second moment of area
236 of the section (which, for a rectangular shape results to be I = 12
1
c h3 ).
237 Therefore, the LHT of the Lagrange equations can be written, when a bounded number of N eigenfunc-
238 tions are considered, and separating the contribution of the exural and torsional motion as:
d ∂T 1 3 ~ d ∂T ~
= c hLMθ Θ̈ = ρs LchMw Ẅ (10)
~
dt ∂ Θ̇ 12 ~
dt ∂ Ẇ
∂U GJ ∂U EI
= ~
Kθ Θ ~
= 3 Kw W (11)
~
∂Θ L ~
∂W L
239 Where Mθ and Mw are the mass matrices for the torsional and exural motions, respectively and Kθ
240 and Kw are the stiness matrices for the torsional and exural motions, respectively; Their components can
241 be calculated as follows. Note that, if the eigenfuncitons are taken formimg an orthogonal base, the terms
242 o of the diagonal will be zero:
Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Mθij = fi fj d Mwij = gi gj d (12)
0 L L L 0 L L L
Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Kθij = fi0 fj0 d ij
Kw = gi00 gj00 d (13)
0 L L L 0 L L L
243 Finally, it is necessary the obtainment of the generalized forces. In this sense, the virtual work generated
244 at an arbitrary section will be the combination of the virtual displacement produced by the vertical force
245 (lift) and the virtual torsion produced by the aerodynamic moment. In consequence, it will be possible to
246 write:
∞ ∞
d(δW) 1 1 1 1
(δΘi fi ) (14)
X X
2 2 2 2 2 2
= ρ∞ V ∞ ccl · δw + ρ∞ V∞ c cm · δθ = ρ∞ V∞ ccl · (δWi gi ) + ρ∞ V∞ c cm ·
dz 2 2 2 1
2 1
247 Next, in order to obtain an equivalent 2D model, two dierent assumptions will be made. Namely:
248 • The aerodynamic coecients, cl and cm are a function only of the local angle of attack of each one of
249 the sections.
250 • The aerodynamic force coecients can be linearized around the rigid angle of attack. The linear term
251 of the serie will be supposed to be constant for the whole span of the plate.
252 With the previous assumptions it will be possible to write. In its more general way. A similar expression
253 could be obtained for moment.
X cn · cl (n) N X cn−1 · cl (n) N

clw c · cl θ̇ cl
cl = cl (w0 , θ0 ) + clθ ∆θ + ∆w + ∆θ̇ + ẇ ∆ẇ + n
θ
∆θ (n)
+ n
w
∆w(n) (15)
c V∞ V∞ 2
V ∞ 2
V ∞

254 As a consequence, it will possible to establish the value of the generalized forces as follows:
∞ n ∞ c (n) V n
cm(n) V∞
~ ~ + 1 ρ∞ V 2 c2 LAθ,w ~ (n) + 1 ρ∞ V 2 c2 LAθ,θ mθ ∞
(16)
X X
~~ = Q
Q w
W ~ (n)
Θ
Θ Θ,0 ∞ n−1 ∞ n
2 0
c 2 0
c
∞ n ∞ n
X cl(n) V∞ X cl(n) V∞
Q ~ ~ + 1 ρ∞ V∞
~~ =Q 2
cLAw,w w ~ (n) + 1 ρ∞ V∞
W 2
cLAw,θ θ ~ (n)
Θ (17)
W W ,0 n−1 n
2 0
c 2 0
c
255 where Aθ,θ , Aw,θ , Aθ,w and Aw,w are aerodynamic inuence matrices, whose components are given by:
Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Aij
θ,w = fi ·gj d Aij
θ,θ = fi ·fj d Aij
w,w = gi ·gj d
0 L L L 0 L L L 0 L L L
(18)
256 Note how, as torsion and exion eigenfunctions are not necessarily otrhogonal between them, matrices
Aij
257 Aθ,w and Aw,θ could contain non-zero values in its diagonal. However, when i 6= j , Aii θ,w
< 1, indicating
θ,w
258 how cross terms contribute to a lesser extent to the resulting motion.
259 Additionally, for values of the velocity below or arround the divergence, as the series are needed to be
260 convergent, it should be possible to assume that WWi+1 i
> 1, allowing then to neglect the terms with crossed
261 contribution between low and high order modes. This hypothesis will be demonstrated in the following
262 sections. Therefore, it will be possible to establish a set of uncoupled equations, as follows:
∞ ∞
n n
!
1 GJ θ 1 cm(n) V∞ cm(n) V∞
(19)
X X
(n)
·ρs ·c3 ·h·L·Miiθ Θ̈i + 2 2
Kii Θi = ρ∞ V∞ c L Aii
θ,w
w
n−1
W i + A ii
θ,θ
w
n
Θi (n)
12 L 2 n=0
c n=0
c
∞ ∞
n n
!
1 cl(n) V∞ cl(n) V∞
(20)
X X
(n)
ρs chLMiiw Ẅi + EI · L 3
Kiiw Wi 2
= ρ∞ V∞ cL Aii
w,w
w
n−1
W i + A ii
w,θ
w
n
Θi (n)
2 n=0
c n=0
c
263 The equations governing the motion of a two dimensional aeroelastic plate can be expressed as:
∞ ∞
n n
!
1 cm(n) V∞ cm(n) V∞
(21)
X X
2 2 w (n) w (n)
I2D θ̈2D + kθ θ2D = ρ∞ V∞ c cm0 + w2D + θ2D
2 n=0
cn−1 n=0
cn
∞ ∞
n n
!
1 cl(n) V∞ cl(n) V∞
(22)
X X
m2D ẅ2D + kw w2D 2
= ρ∞ V∞ c cl0 + w
n−1
w2D
(n)
+ w
n
θ2D (n)
2 n=0
c n=0
c
264 In consequence, an inspection of the equations would lead to the next deduction, assuming the coupling
265 between low and high order modes can be neglected and the aerodynamic loads are mainly governed by the
266 angle of attack: The 2D airfoil is capable to accurately represent the rst mode of the 3D plate motion,
267 when 2D properties of the airfoil are taken to be:
1 Mθ θ
GJ K11 w
M11 w
EI K11
I2D = ρs c3 h θ11 kθ = m2D = ρs ch kw = (23)
12 A11 L2 Aθ11 Aθ,w
11
L4 Aθ,w
11

Therefore, dimensionally, it can be deduced how, for a given geometry, the aeroelastic response can be
considered to be a function of the non-dimensional parameters:

I2D kθ m2D kw tV∞ w2D
F2D Re, Ma, 1 , , ,
4 1 ρ V 2 c2 1 ρ c2 1 ρ V 2
, , , θ2D =0 (24)
2 ρ∞ c 2 ∞ ∞ 2 ∞ 2 ∞ ∞
c c
268 With this selection of parameters, it will be, therefore, possible to reduce the complex 3D model to an
269 equivalent 2D. Next sections will be dedicated to the application of this reduced model and its comparison
270 with the complete three dimensional case. The characteristic parameter of the analysis is the non-dimensional
271 torsion stiness k∗ = 1 ρ∞kVθ 2 c2 .
2 ∞
272 3.4. Overset Mesh

273 Among this paper uid structure interaction simulations are proposed and resolved using an overset
274 mesh. Overset meshes discretize the computational domain in multiple meshes which overlap each other
275 arbitrarily [35]. This makes possible the denition of a subdomain around the plate which is allowed to be
276 deformed almost freely inside the parent global domain, allowing the denition of high displacement without
277 compromising the overall quality of the mesh. The solution of the body is obtained from the small region
278 mesh while background mesh contains the solution of the domain. The cells inside the overset subdomain
279 are morphed in accordance with the wall solid displacement.
280 In an overset mesh the equations are solved in certain cell, which are called active. On the other hand,
281 some background cells are deactivated (inactive cells) when the body mesh is over them. Inactive cells might
282 become active while the mesh is moving. The boundary between both meshes is composed by acceptor cells.
283 They are used to connect both solutions through interpolation.
284 Overset mesh has been widely used in the literature for the calculation of uid ows around bodies
285 experiencing high displacements (both as a rigid moving body or as a exible body). Some works worth to
286 be mentioned in order to justify the selection of this methodology for the current work: For instance, overset
287 mesh was used by Tran and Kim [36], [37],[38] in order to analyze the solid motion of oating oshore wind
288 turbines. Dose et al. [39] presented an extension of the current work which was capable to, additionally,
289 capture the exible motions of the blades of the NREL 5MW wind turbine. Finally, other interesting related
290 problem solved with the use of overset mesh is the one presented in the work of Marouf et al. [40], applied
291 to the simulation of a morphing Airbus A320 airfoil and ap.
292 4. Methodology
293 4.1. Numerical methodology for the resolution of the 2D case

294 As it was explained during the previous section, it is possible to establish an approach for a three dimen-
295 sional plate, as an equivalent two dimensional problem, which can be thought about as a two dimensional
296 plate of chord c and initial angle of attack θ0 , subjected to a uid ow of density ρ∞ and velocity V∞ .
297 The structural motion of the plate is modeled with torsional and linear springs with stiness kθ and kw ,
298 respectively and inertia and mass I2D and m2D . In Figure 3, a scheme illustrating this transformation
299 is shown, Figure 3 (left) represents the real three dimensional model while Figure 3 (right) represents its
300 simplication.
301 In order to simulate the ow around a at plate inside a channel of height H , the computational domain
302 is shown at Figure 1b. The upstream length, Lu = 5 · c and downstream length, Ld = 15 · c are taken
303 in a manner that the boundary conditions do not signicantly aect the computed uid ow ([41]), after
304 an analysis of length independence which, for reasons of brevity, is not shown in the current work. The
305 incoming uid ow is supposed to be characterized by a constant velocity, V∞ .
306 The equations have been solved using commercial software Simcenter STAR-CCM+ R , using polyhedral
307 mesh with second order upwind discretization for the uid domain and a second order structured mesh
308 for the solid. In order to generate the discretized computational domain, an overset mesh methodology is
309 adopted, whose main features were explained in section 3.4. After performing a mesh independence study,
310 in order to ensure reproducibility of the results next mesh sizes are used for the selected grid: The mesh size
311 at the wall of the plate was taken to be of approximately ∆xcwall ≈ 0.004; the mesh is gradually increasing its

(a) 3D plate (b) 2D plate

Figure 3: Squeme of the three dimensional lifting at plate (left) and its equivalent two dimensional model (right)
312 size from this boundary untill reaching a size of ∆xoverset

c ≈ 0.020, practically uniform at the overset domain.
313 It is important to ensure that the mesh at the interface is of similar sizes both at the overset and background
314 domains. Due to the expected importance of the wake, specially at medium-high angles of attack, the grid
315 size is constrained to a size of ∆xwake
c ≈ 0.040 at a region downstream the plate. The biggest size of the
316 mesh at the domain is set to ∆xdomain
c ≈ 0.200. In order capture the eects of the wall boundary layer, a
317 prism layer is generated near the wall, with a thickness ∆y c = 0.075, containing a total of 5 layers, ensuring
318 a maximum value of y + < 1 for the most part of the wall, as will be shown later. This conguration results
319 in a computational mesh with an approximate number of elements N = 5.1 · 104 . As an example, Figure 4
320 shows an sketch of the constructed computational mesh:

Figure 4: Sketch of the computational mesh (not scale) showing the dierent zones of renement. The overset mesh
around the plate and the background mesh are shown with dierent color
321 In order to check the spatial discretization error of the chosen mesh, a grid independence study was
322 performed using dierent cell resolutions. The study consisted on the obtainment of the aerodynamic forces
323 and moments as a function of the angle of attack, as shown at Figure 5 where the lift coecient (left) and
324 moment coecient taken at the center of the plate (right) are shown as a function of the angle of attack
325 for dierent levels of grid resolution. It can be observed a fair agreement between all the shown meshes for
326 these parameters, even at angles near to the stall. Similar trends were observed at the drag coecient but,
327 as this parameter should not be dominant on the plate motion, it was not shown. In fact, the dierence
328 between results is so small that is hardly appreciated in the graphic. For this reason, Table 1 shows the
329 value of the lift, moment and drag coecients for θ = 0.0 deg, θ = 2.5 deg (pre-stall), θ = 5.0 deg (stall)
330 and θ = 10 deg (post-stall). The 2D aerodynamic coecients are dened as:
D L M
cd = 1 2
cl = 1 2
cm = 1 2 2
(25)
2 ρ∞ V∞ c 2 ρ∞ V ∞ c 2 ρ∞ V∞ c

Figure 5: Comparison of the dependence of the lift (left) and moment (right) coecient for the 2D plate as a function of
the angle of attack for dierent grid renements
Table 1
Comparison of the 2D force coecients at dierent values of the angle of attacks for three dierent discretizations
Mesh N = 5.1 · 104 Mesh N = 1.1 · 105 Mesh N = 5.6 · 105
θ(deg) cd cl cm cd cl cm cd cl cm
0.0 0.0429 0.0000 0.0000 0.0421 0.0000 0.0000 0.0416 0.0000 0.0000
2.0 0.0525 0.3166 0.0065 0.0522 0.3303 0.0647 0.0517 0.3365 0.0643
5.0 0.0946 0.5814 00060 0.0937 0.5634 0.0533 0.0931 0.5641 0.0541
10 0.1575 0.5819 0.0057 0.1566 0.5732 0.0542 0.1561 0.5737 0.0550
331 It can be observed how the three shown meshes show an excellent agreement both numerically and
332 qualitatively even at stall conditions. This is in agreement with the geometrical features of the case. In
333 fact, as the boundary layer tends to become highly turbulent at the corner of the plate, prediction of a
334 laminar-turbulent transition is not of importance. Furthermore, the uid ow is completely detached at the
335 suction side, even for very low values of the angle of attack, as it can be observed at Figure 6, where the
336 contours of velocity are sketched over the plate for dierent values of the angle of attack, using the mesh of
337 N = 5.1 · 104 elements. The previous fact reinforces the independence from the Reynold number, as it was
338 stated by Pfahl and Uhlemann [19].

(a) θ = 0 deg (b) θ = 2 deg
(c) θ = 5 deg (d) θ = 10 deg
Figure 6: Velocity contour of the 2D at plate for dierent angles of attack.
339 As it was previously stated, it is intended to obtain a resolution of the momentum boundary layer. In
340 order to do this, it is necessary to ensure that the wall y + is kept in the viscous sublayer (y + < 5) for the
341 major part of the wall. Figure 7 (left) shows the evolution of this parameter at the suction and pressure
342 side for two dierent values of the angle of attack. Note how y + < 1 for the whole plate. Moreover, this
343 parameter allows to recognize how, even for the low angle of θ = 1 deg a recirculation bubble appears at
344 the suction side, extending for almost the 50 % of the length. For θ = 5 deg, the recirculation is found for
345 the whole length. These trends are conrmed by Figure 7 (right), where the distribution of the pressure
346 coecient (cp = 1p−p ∞
2 ) is shown for dierent values of the angle of attack. Note how the eects of the
2 ρ∞ V∞
347 recirculation bubble can be inferred from the observation of an almost at curve at the suction side of the
348 plate, although they can be more clearly identied from the wall y + distribution.

(a) C distribution of the plate

P (b) y distribution of the plate
+
Figure 7: Wall characteristic magnitudes distribution of the plate for dierent angles of attack
349 The structural motion of the plate is modeled by the inclusion of a torsional spring with stiness kθ (in
350 consequence, an external moment, proportional to the deformation is applied over the plate) and a linear
351 spring with stiness kw (an external moment, proportional to the vertical displacement is applied over the
352 plate). The plate will be supposed to rotate around its mass center. With these assumptions, the value
353 of the stiness, mass and inertia can be deduced from a 3D structure applying the relationships derived in
354 Equation 23.
355 In order to correctly model possible unsteady eects, the Courant-Lewis-Federich number should be
356 maintained to CFL = ∆tV ∆x as low as possible for most part of the computational domain. For the current
357 chosen mesh with N = 3.5·104 a time step of ∆t·c/V∞ = 5·10−6 was chosen. Figure 8 shows the distribution
358 of CFL for an arbitrary time step, which corresponds with a rigid angle of attack of θ0 = 2.5 deg at conditions
359 of 1 ρ∞kVθ 2 c2 = 6.44 and Re ≈ 105 . For the mentioned conditions the major part of the cells present a CFL
2 ∞
360 lower than 6. Although the CFL condition could seem not to be reached, the problem is demonstrated to
361 be time independent in an independence analysis, which is not show to reduce the extension of the paper.
Figure 8: CFL distribution of the mesh for a 5.1 · 104 elements and a non-dimensional time step of ∆tc
V∞
= 5 · 10−6 .

362 For each value of stiness or velocity, the case is rstly initialized with a steady-rigid uid eld. This is
363 used as the initial condition for the unsteady exible simulation, which is iterated until steady or statistically
364 steady conditions are reached.
365 4.2. Numerical methodology for the resolution of the 3D case
366 Similarly as with the 2D case, an overset region is set around the plate, in order to ensure maintenance
367 of the overall quality of the mesh. The plate is deformed as a consequence of the applied uid pressure and
368 is modeled as a exible linear body, by numerically solving the equations stated at Section 3. The overset
369 interface can be freely deformed in accordance with the plate motion and the rest of the cells of the region
370 are morphed in accordance.
371 The mesh size had to be increased in comparison with the 2D calculations, in order to state computational
372 requirements bounded. The cell size at the walls was set to 0.01 · c, growing to a size of 0.02 · c at the overset.
373 The size at the wake was set to 0.04 · c and the maximum size at the furthest surfaces was 0.40 · c. With
374 this conguration, the mesh is conformed by a total of N ≈ 5 · 106 elements. For the time discretization a
375 temporal step of 10−4 s is used.
Figure 9: Solid mesh (left) and uid mesh (right) of the 3D simulation. Detail on the plate and the boundary layer
376 In a similar way as it was shown for the 2D geometry, it is necessary to ensure that the solution is not
377 dependent on the chosen discretization. In this sense, it was chosen to perform an spatial grid independence
378 study based on the calculation of the stationary uid eld around the 3D plate whose results are shown at
379 Table 2. The force and moment coecients around the center of the campling are calculated in accordance
380 with Equation 26
D L M
CD = 1 2
CL = 1 2
CM = 1 2
(26)
2 ρ∞ V∞ Sw 2 ρ∞ V∞ Sw 2 ρ∞ V∞ Sw c
381 Being Sw = L c the palniform surface of the plate and D, L and M the drag, lift and moment, respectively,
382 exerted over the plate.
Table 2
Comparison of the 3D force coecients at dierent values of the angle of attacks for three dierent discretizations
Mesh N = 4.7 · 106 Mesh N = 7.0 · 106 Mesh N = 15 · 106
α(deg) cd cl cm cd cl cm cd cl cm
0.0 0.0473 0.0000 0.0000 0.0450 0.0000 0.0000 0.0438 0.0000 0.0000
2.5 0.0555 0.2554 0.0585 0.0554 0.2554 0.0585 0.0541 0.2613 0.0602
5.0 0.0872 0.4945 0.0804 0.0867 0.4861 0.0711 0.0858 0.4826 0.0697
10 0.1551 0.5727 0.0687 0.1550 0.5725 0.0677 0.1535 0.5684 0.0659

383 4.3. Grid independence for a 3D structural model

384 In order to model the exible behavior of the plate for the three dimensional calculations, this is assumed
385 to behave in accordance with the equations of the solid stress body. These equations are numerically solved
386 using STAR-CCM+ in the time domain. The plate is discretized in a total of N elements, with a uniform
387 mesh size of ∆x = 1.25 mm at the surface and a total of 5 elements through the thickness.
388 With this values, the eigenfrequencies and eigenvectors of the plate can be calculated. It should be
389 supposed that the discretization is good enough when the location value of the rst 8 eigenfrequencies is not
390 substantially modied when changing the mesh. Note that, if the resonance frequency, fi was expressed in
391 terms of the Strouhal number, Sti = Vfi∞c , the ith Strouhal resonance frequency could always be expressed
392 as a function of the Young's Modulus and the density of the solid. The non-dimensional stiness (K ) and
393 density (M ) are dened in equation 27.
E ρs
K= 1 2
M= (27)
2 ρ ∞ v∞
ρ∞
394 and the Strouhal number as a function of the non-dimensional Young's Modulus and density would be:
r
K
Sti = Ci (28)
M
395 In consequence, if the constant Ci is known, the vacuum resonance frequency can be calculated at any
396 working condition. Table 3 shows the value of each of these constants for dierent solid mesh discretizations.
397 It can be observed how the result of the eigenfrequency is not noticeably aected by the number of elements
398 chosen at each case. In consequence, the structural spatial resolution for N = 8.5 · 103 elements can be
399 considered to be accurate enough from this point of view.
Table 3
Comparison of the vacuum resonance frequency for two dierent discretizations
N C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
8.5 · 103 3.41 · 10−4 2.13 · 10−3 2.47 · 10−3 5.98 · 10−3 7.68 · 10−3 7.93 · 10−3
5.0 · 104 3.39 · 10−4 2.11 · 10−3 2.46 · 10−3 5.95 · 10−3 7.66 · 10−3 7.92 · 10−3
400 Additionally, Figure 10 shows the modal form corresponding with each one of these eigenfrequencies. It
401 can be observed how 1st , 2nd and 4th modes correspond to the exion modes, while 3rd and 5th represent
402 the rst and second torsion modes, respectively. Finally, the 6th would represent a horizontal exion mode
403 which is not expected to be observed at any usual working condition.

Figure 10: Representation of the rst six eigenmodes
404 4.4. 3D correction for 2D model

405 As it was previously stated in section 1, the actual aerodynamic coecients of the three dimensional
406 plate are a function of the aspect ratio and, therefore, it should be possible to correct the two dimensional
407 data in order to obtain even more accurate results.
408 In order to obtain the ratio between 3D and 2D coecients, a steady CFD analysis is performed using
409 Figure 4 and 9 meshes respectively for 2D and 3D problem. Then it should be possible to correct the forces
410 acting over the two dimensional plate, by multiplying them by a corrective factor. However, an inspection
411 of Equation 29, which shows the equation governing the torsion of the corrected 2D system, can lead to the
412 conclusion that it is completely analogous to divide both the 2D masses and stiness by the same factor.
∞ ∞
n n
!
1 cm(n) V∞ cm(n) V∞
(29)
X X
2 2 w (n) w (n)
I2Dcorr θ̈2D + kθcorr θ2D = ρ∞ V∞ c cm0 + w2D + θ2D
2 n=0
cn−1 n=0
cn
413 Where I2Dcorr , kθcorr are the corrected inertia and stiness respectively. A similar analysis can be applied
414 to the exural degree of freedom:
cm cl cm cl
I2Dcorr = I2D ; m2Dcorr = m2D ; kθcorr = kθ ; kwcorr = kw (30)
CM CL CM CL
415 5. Results
416 5.1. Deformation shape

417 In order to demonstrate the possibility of neglecting high order modes, the shape of the deformed structure
418 is compared with the modal deformation shapes. In order to do this, Figure 11, shows a comparison between
419 the result obtained by the three dimensional CFD calculation and its approach by using only one and two
420 modes, at an arbitrary time step of a three dimensional calculation (the simulation dened by k∗ = 21).
421 Additionally, Figure 12 shows the modal contribution for bending (left) and torsion (right) for the 4 rst
422 modes.

CFD (3D)
1 mode
2 modes
CFD (3D)
1 mode
2 modes
(a) Flexural approximation of mode 1 (b) Torsional approximation of mode 1

Figure 11: Approximation of the st mode of bending and torsion to the complete aerodynamic deformation for a reference
plate with k∗ = 21.
(a) Bending modal contribution (b) Torsional modal contribution

Figure 12: Modal contribution for the exural and the torsional deformations for a reference plate with k∗ = 21
423 Previous Figures show how rst mode is the dominant one and how a fair agreement between it and
424 the actual complete deformed shape can be encountered. Moreover, if two eigenfunctions were taken, the
425 agreement would become perfect. For the torsional deformation only a 5% of error is obtained assuming
426 only rst mode so, for practical purposes, and given the substantial simplication in terms of computational
427 cost, the hypothesis of neglecting high order modes can be considered to be valid.
428 5.2. Three-dimensional eects
429 As it was previously stated, one important problem of the reduction of dimensions is that, for a three
430 dimensional geometry, the aerodynamic loads are expected to vary as a function of the third dimension. In
431 fact, for low values of the angle of attack, it is well known that a vortex is produced at the tip of any lifting
432 surface, leading to an important reduction of lift, compared with the pure two dimensional body. Similar
433 eects could be observed when θ takes moderate, high values, although the eects of the tip are slightly
434 dierent. Moreover, the center of pressure is moved backwards and the aerodynamic moment is modied.
435 To visualize these eects, in Figure 13, the evolution of the force coecients of the 3D plate with the depth

436 coordinate are presented for two low and one moderate angles of attack. This gure shows how, as explained
437 before, it is needed to apply the previous correction to include the reduction of aerodynamic forces on the
438 2D calculation. Note how, integration about the z axis would allow to obtain the global lift coecient of
439 the plate.
(a) Lift distribution (b) Moment distribution

Figure 13: Distribution of lift force (left) and pitching moment respect to the center of the chord (right) along the span.
440 In Figure 13a, the eect of the tip might be observed. Near the wall, the lift is close to the 2D value
441 and its value decreases when it is measured near the tip for the linear range of the polar. However, in the
442 non-linear range, the three dimensional eects of the plate and the inuence of the channel's walls produce
443 an increase in lift. Similar eects can be observed for the pitching moment, Figure 13b.
444 The three dimensional eects can also be observed in Figure 14, which shows the streamlines of the wall
445 shear stress over a plate colored by the value of the pressure coecient. The wall shear stress lines indicate
446 the direction of the air over the plate. In this gure, the recirculation bubble, appearing at the leading edge
447 of the suction side can be easily identied. Note how, for the case of θ = 2 deg , this bubble is shorter at
448 the tip and its size tends to increase when reaching the z = 0 position, where it occupies approximately
449 the 25 % of the chord. The recirculation bubble grows when increasing the angle of attack (for instance,
450 at θ = 4 deg it occupies almost 80 % of the chord) until its length correspond to the whole chord for high
451 angles of attack.

(a) Pressure side - α = 2 ◦

(b) Suction side - α = 2 ◦
(c) Pressure side - α = 4 ◦

(d) Suction side - α = 4 ◦
(e) Pressure side - α = 8 ◦

(f) Suction side - α = 8 ◦
Figure 14: Pressure coecient distribution and wall shear stresses at the pressure side (left) and suction side (right) for
dierent values of angle of attack
452 Three dimensional eects might be also observed in Figure 15. In this gure, the three-dimensional
453 ow structure is presented both the perfectly rigid conguration (left) and at an arbitrary time step of the
454 stationary fully coupled solution, corresponding to a non dimensional stiness parameter of k∗ = 6.44. As
455 expected, similar eects can be inferred from both gures. On the one hand, the streamlines show the vortex
456 produced by the tip eect of the plate. On the other hand, the turbulent kinetic energy is shown in the same
457 gure. This indicates the domain zones where the ow turbulence plays a major role. The turbulence starts
458 after the sharp edge of the plate and continues downwards. The higher value of the turbulent kinetic energy
459 is obtained in the recirculation bubble of the suction side. Then the kinetic energy is diused downwards
460 and its value is decreased until it is dissipated.
461 It can be appreciated the importance of three-dimensional eects. The tip vortex is reducing the eective
462 angle of attack of the plate near the tip. The ow is maintained attached to the plate in the area of inuence
463 of the vortex. In Figure 15 is possible to observe that the turbulent kinetic energy of that area is negligible
464 due to the reattachment of the ow. The inuenced area is around a 5% of the span in the leading edge
465 and is increased to a 10% in the trailing edge. In addition, the width of the turbulent area is increased as it
466 moves near to the root. This eect is directly related with the aerodynamic loads over the plate, as it can be
467 observed in Figure 13a. Due to the eect of the tip vortex, the force distribution presents an elliptical-like
468 shape along the span of the plate. The distribution of turbulent kinetic energy also demonstrates the validity
469 of the hypothesis of Reynolds number non-dependence: the turbulent kinetic energy starts at leading edge
470 without any evolution of the boundary layer as a consequence of the sharp edge.

Figure 15: 3D eects on the at plate with θ0 = 2.5 deg. Figure shows the solution for rigid plate (left, k∗ → ∞) and
for an arbitrary time step corresponding with the simulations of a exible plate of k∗ = 6.44
471 As it has been already stated, three-dimensional eects aect the global coecients. In Figure 16 the
472 variation of the lift coecient accounting for 3D eects are compared with the computed 2D lift coecient.
473 Here, the lift coecient is calculated at the root, at the tip, and the global lift coecient of the whole
474 plate. Note how the lift coecient calculated near the root is similar to the two-dimensional calculation as
475 it was shown in Figure 14, where the wall shear stress presents the ow direction near the root. However,
476 as expected, the value near the tip is far dierent from the 2D case as a consequence of the tip vortex
477 as it can be appreciated in the shear stress (Figure 14) and the streamlines (Figure 15). According with
478 section 4.4, the aerodynamic 3D eects of the plate should be corrected with a ratio between the 3D and
479 2D aerodynamic coecients of the plate. Two dierent corrections for the lift coecient are proposed in
480 Figure 16b. The rst one uses the global value of the 3D simulation to correct 2D results. The other one
481 only applies the value on the tip for the correction. Similar eects are observed for the pitching moment,
482 shown in Figure 17.
483 In both Figures 16 and 17 it is possible to appreciate a linear zone where the lift and moment slope in
484 the 2D problem is higher than in the 3D simulation. In addition, there is a second zone where the two-
485 dimensional plate stalls meanwhile in the 3D simulation the slope still growing. Therefore, the correction
486 applied to the 2D problem must decrease the value of the coecients in the rst zone and after a certain
487 angle, the coecient must be amplied.

(a) Lift coecient (b) Lift correction

Figure 16: Lift coecient for 2D section and tip section of the 3D plate (left) and scaling coecient for the lift force
(right).
(a) Pitch moment coecient (b) Pitch moment correction

Figure 17: Pitch moment coecient for 2D section and tip section of the 3D plate (left) and scaling coecient for the
pitch moment (right).
488 5.3. Deformation results

489 In this subsection, the deformation of the steady state of the 2D and 3D simulations are compared
490 for dierent values of the non dimensional stiness, k∗ . The capability of the two-dimensional model to
491 reproduce the deformation of the plate is proved. As stated in section 3, the motion of the plate should
492 be similar to the rst mode of vibration of both torsion and bending. In addition, in Figure 12 it was
493 demonstrated that the error of assuming the contribution of only one mode for the movement is lower than
494 5%. Therefore, is expected that the motion of the plate is reproduced accurately in the two-dimensional
495 simulation. The time evolution of the 2D and 3D simulations can be observed in Figure 18. It is possible to
496 appreciate that the 2D simulation presents higher deformation than the 3D plate. In addition, the frequency
497 of the motion has been preserved in the 2D simulation and both simulations tend to the same value for an
498 innity time of simulation.

(a) 2D simulation (b) 3D simulation

Figure 18: Time evolution of the torsion of the plate.
499 In order to compare the 2D and 3D simulations with and without corrections, the average value of the
500 deformation on the plate once the steady state is reached is presented in Figure 19 as a function of the
501 non-dimensional stiness.
3Dtip 3Dtip
2D (non-corrected) 2D (non-corrected)
2D (tip-correction) 2D (tip-correction)
2D (global-correction) 2D (global-correction)
(a) Average torsion (b) Average bending

Figure 19: Average value of the deformation as a function of the non-dimensional stiness.
502 In Figure 19, it is possible to observe that the non-corrected simulation estimates the stall utter velocity
503 with high accuracy. In the both analysis (3D and non-corrected 2D) the instability is reached with k∗ ≈ 6. If
504 the non-dimensional stiness is reduced below this value the stall utter eect will start causing an oscillatory
505 torsional dominated motion which amplies the amplitude and leads to the destruction of the plate. The
506 non-corrected model presents higher deformations than the 3D simulations and the results are more accurate
507 in torsion than bending as a consequence of the higher inuence of the tip loads in the exural deformation
508 (Gere and Goodno [42]).
509 In addition, two dierent corrective models has been used. On the one hand, the aerodynamic coecients
510 have been modied using the aerodynamic load on the tip of the plate. In Figure 19, the low inuence of
511 this section in the global aerodynamic load is shown. According with Figure 15 the tip vortex only aects
512 to a reduced area of the plate and thus the correction is worsening the results.
513 On the other hand, a second correction is applied. In this case, the aerodynamic load is corrected using the
514 global aerodynamic coecient of the plate. The correction increase the accuracy of the mean deformation,
515 Figure 19b, because it takes into account the eect of the tip vortex when solving a 2D equivalent model.
516 This results show the possibility to simulate complex aeroelastic phenomena with non-linear aerodynam-
517 ics with low computational cost. 2D simulations have been proved to achieve a high reduction on the CPU
518 time by reducing the dimension of the problem and without any considerable penalty on the accuracy. In
519 addition, in Figure 19, it is demonstrated the inuence of the 3D aerodynamic eects, which need to be
520 taken into account in order to ensure the high delity of the 2D model. Therefore, the methodology of this
521 article has been demonstrated to generate low error respect to expensive 3D simulations.
522 6. Conclusions
523 As it has been said during this paper, the simulation of a three-dimensional aeroelastic problem is
524 prohibitive in terms of computational cost. The problem analysed along this article includes complex
525 phenomena as the non-linear aerodynamics due to the at plate geometry and the uid-structure coupling.
526 During the current work numerical results of the thin at plate aeroelastic problem have been presented in
527 order to increase the knowledge on this eld which was mainly studied experimentally by previous authors.
528 According to the computational limits presented previously, this document shows the possibility of re-
529 ducing the dimension of the aeroelastic problem. The reduction of the 3D problem to a 2D characteristic
530 problem supposes an important save on CPU time and therefore on resources. To achieve this objective,
531 an equivalent aeroelastic model is demonstrated theoretically and then 2D and 3D simulations have been
532 compared in order to determine the accuracy of the dimension reduction. In addition, the aerodynamic load
533 estimated by the 2D simulation diers from the real aerodynamic force applied on the 3D plate. Due to the
534 previous reason the inuence of the tip vortex on the aeroelastic problem has been determined and then the
535 3D eects have been corrected.
536 Along the document three 2D cases of study have been performed. One of them without correction,
537 the other two applying an aerodynamic correction. The rst 2D corrected simulation multiplies the load by
538 the ratio of the aerodynamic coecients calculated on the tip and the 2D coecients. The other correction
539 makes use of the ratio between the global coecient and the 2D loads.
540 Although the non-corrected simulation gives good accuracy for the calculation of the stability limit, the
541 results evidence the necessity of including a correction for the 3D eects on the plate in order to obtain an
542 accurate value of the deformation. The good accuracy of the 2D aeroelastic analysis is mainly due to the
543 low inuence of the tip vortex in the rest of the plate, as it only aects less than the 5% of the geometry,
544 therefore the load of the most of the plate is similar to the 2D aerodynamic force. The deformation of the
545 non-corrected model is higher because the 2D load is higher than the 3D force (due to the reduction of angle
546 of attack produced by the tip vortex).
547 On the other hand, when the 3D correction is applied only taking into account the loads near the tip,
548 the results become too optimistic. The load is reduced drastically and the deformation is much lower than
549 the real values. This kind of correction has been proved to be useless and dangerous in this application.
550 The correction might lead to incorrect results which underestimate the eect of the wind and therefore, to
551 the failure of the structure.
552 An intermediate correction is proved to be necessary as plunge cannot be obtained without any correction
553 and tip load corrective factor underestimates loads. Therefore, to take into account the 3D eects the
554 aerodynamic force is corrected using the value of the coecients of the whole plate instead of only in the
555 tip. It has been demonstrated the eectiveness of the correction for pitch and plunge deformations. This
556 factor is taking into account on the rst hand the tip vortex and in the other hand the area of the plate in
557 where it is acting.
558 From the analysis performed in the paper it is also possible to extract that the corrective factors are
559 only necessary when the bending of the plate is not restricted. Therefore, in solar trackers structures the
560 correction should not be required to obtain an accurate result because the rotation axis may be hold by
561 a set of bearing which restricts the plunge. The correction might also be avoided in long structures like
562 suspension bridges in which the three dimensional eects occurs near the clamped section.
563 With the selection of parameters proposed in the work, it will be, therefore, possible to reduce the
564 complex 3D model to an equivalent 2D. The main important advantages of the new derived domain can be

565 listed next:

566 • Altough important simplications have been assumed during the derivation of the equivalent model,
567 this last allows one to, given a complex three dimensional model, with knowledge on the structural
568 behavior, reducing to a bi-dimensional case, implying reduction on the computational cost by orders
569 of magnitude.
570 • The aerodynamics of the reduced bi-dimensional model can be considered to be fully non-linear, given
571 that the hypothesis listed during its derivation could be assumed to be valid.
572 • Therefore, the model should be useful for relatively quick estimations of aeroelastic linear instabili-
573 ties, such as utter or divergence. Also it could be used for the estimation of non linear instabili-
574 ties/phenomena such as stall utter.
575 However, it should be noted how the reduced model neglects some phenomena which, under some cir-
576 cumstances, could be of importance, specially at post-utter conditions:
577 • The coupling between low order and high order modes has been neglected.
578 • The coupling between torsion and exural modes is taken into account. However, the derived 2D
579 model is not exact at this stage.
580 • If the torsion experience high dierences over the geometry, the assumption of constant moment
581 coecient will not be valid anymore.
582 However, as it has proved during the previous sections, the inuence of these drawbacks can be considered
583 to be of second order for determining the aeroelastic features of the plate.
584 To conclude the paper, it is important to state that the possibility to reduce the dimension of the
585 aeroelastic problem has been proved. In addition, the tip eects are demonstrated to be low inuential for
586 pitch but important for plunge in order to estimate the mean value of the deformation.
587 7. Acknowledges
588 This project was partially supported by the Spanish company "Axial Structural Solutions" in the bench-
589 mark of a collaboration project entitled "Analysis of solar plates stability".
590 Symbols
δij Kronecker delta elements

∆θ Torsional motion
∆w Flexural motion
Turbulent dissipation
ij Strain matrix elements
~
Θ Vector of torsional modes amplitude
Θi (t) Amplitude associated with torsional modes
θ0 Initial pitch angle of the plate
µ∞ Free stream viscosity
ν Poisson coecient
νt Turbulent viscosity
ρ∞ Free stream density
ρs Solid density
σ Cauchy stress tensor
ω Turbulent dissipation rate
Aθ,θ , Aθ,w , Aw,θ , Aw,w Aerodynamic inuence matrix

a∞ Free stream speed of sound

AR Aspect ratio
~b Volume forces
Cµ Constant of the turbulent viscosity
CD 3D drag coecient
Ci Vacuum resonance frequency
CL 3D lift coecient
CLt 3D lift coecient on the tip of the plate
CM 3D pitch moment coecient
CMt 3D lift coecient on the tip of the plate
c Chord of the plate
cd 2D drag coecient
cl 2D lift coecient
cl(n) 2D lift coecient n derivative respect to the pitch angle
θ
cl(n)
w
2D lift coecient n derivative respect to the vertical position
cm 2D pitch moment coecient
cm(n) 2D pitch moment coecient n derivative respect to the pitch angle
θ
cm(n)
w
2D pitch moment coecient n derivative respect to the vertical position
CFL Courant-Friedrichs-Levy number
D Drag force
dΩ Dierential of the volume
E Young's modulus
fi Torsional eigenfunction
G Transversal elastic modulus
gi Flexural eigenfunction
H Section of the wind tunnel
h Thickness of the plate
I Inertia of the cross section of the plate
I2D 2D inertia of the plate
I2Dcorr 2D inertia of the plate corrected with 3D aerodynamics
J Polar moment of inertia
Kθ Stiness matrix of the torsional modes
Kw Stiness matrix of the exural modes
k Turbulent kinetic energy
k∗ Characteristic non-dimensional stiness of the plate
kθ 2D torsional stiness
kθcorr 2D torsional stiness corrected with 3D aerodynamics
kw 2D exural stiness
kwcorr 2D exural stiness corrected with 3D aerodynamics
L Span of the plate
L Lift force
Ld Downwind distance domain
Lu Upwind distance domain
M Pitch moment
Mθ Mass matrix of the torsional modes
Mw Mass matrix of the exural modes
m2D 2D mass of the plate
m2Dcorr 2D mass of the plate corrected with 3D aerodynamics
Ma Mach number
N Number of elements
hpi Mean pressure eld
Qqj Generalised forces

qj Generalised coordinate of the plate

Sw Reference surface of the plate
St Strouhal number
T Kinetic energy of the plate
t Time
U Potential energy of the plate
Re Reynolds number
V Velocity
hVi i Mean velocity eld
V∞ Free stream velocity
Vi Component of the mean velocity eld in the ith direction
hvi vj i Reynold stresses
W~ Vector of exural modes amplitude
Wi (t) Amplitude associated with exural modes
w0 Initial vertical position of the plate
w
~ Displacement eld vector
x Position coordinate
xi Position of the nodes
y Position coordinate
yp Vertical displacement of a point over the plate
z Position coordinate
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Manuscript Number: INDAER-D-20-00034

Article Type: Full Length Article

Corresponding Author: Pedro Quintero Igeño

First Author: Antonio Gil

Order of Authors: Antonio Gil

Pedro Quintero Igeño

Suggested Reviewers: Hervé Denayer

C over letter for the subm ission of the article:

However, the resolution of this 3D problem can become prohibitive in terms of

1 Prediction of the non-linear aeroelastic behavior of a cantilever

76 ARTICLE INFO Abstract

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 1 of 28

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 2 of 28

146 2. Description of the test case

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 3 of 28

(a) 3D domain (b) 2D domain (not-scale)

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 4 of 28

184 3. Theoretical background

185 3.1. Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes

205 3.2. Elastic problem

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 5 of 28

212 3.3. Derivation of the 2D equivalent model

(a) Flexural shape functions (b) Torsional shape functions

Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

X cn · cl (n) N X cn−1 · cl (n) N

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 7 of 28

Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 8 of 28

272 3.4. Overset Mesh

293 4.1. Numerical methodology for the resolution of the 2D case

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 9 of 28

(a) 3D plate (b) 2D plate

312 size from this boundary untill reaching a size of ∆xoverset

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 10 of 28

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 11 of 28

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 12 of 28

(a) θ = 0 deg (b) θ = 2 deg

(c) θ = 5 deg (d) θ = 10 deg

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 13 of 28

(a) C distribution of the plate

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 14 of 28

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 15 of 28

383 4.3. Grid independence for a 3D structural model

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 16 of 28

Figure 10: Representation of the rst six eigenmodes

404 4.4. 3D correction for 2D model

416 5.1. Deformation shape

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 17 of 28

(a) Flexural approximation of mode 1 (b) Torsional approximation of mode 1

(a) Bending modal contribution (b) Torsional modal contribution

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 18 of 28

(a) Lift distribution (b) Moment distribution

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 19 of 28

(a) Pressure side - α = 2 ◦

(c) Pressure side - α = 4 ◦

(e) Pressure side - α = 8 ◦

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 20 of 28

Gil et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 21 of 28

(a) Lift coecient (b) Lift correction

(a) Pitch moment coecient (b) Pitch moment correction

488 5.3. Deformation results

Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z Z 1 z z z

Figure 10: Representation of the rst six eigenmodes

(a) Lift coecient (b) Lift correction

(a) Pitch moment coecient (b) Pitch moment correction